STEADFAST SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES
In line with its forward-thinking solutions, Energy Partners prides itself on making sustainability a core pillar of the business and enacting systemic socioeconomic change within the local communities where it operates.
“We pride ourselves on knowing that we’re not just solving energy problems – we’re enabling sustainability and helping businesses thrive in a challenging environment.
“That broader vision resonates with our clients and partners, and I believe it’s a big part of why they choose to work with us,” de Waal reflects.
The extent to which environmental practices are embedded in the company’s DNA is demonstrated by its internal Sustainability Committee, which ensures Energy Partners acts in accordance with international standards and global best practice frameworks.
These include the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, and the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.
The latter is particularly significant for the company’s carbon accounting practices and its reporting on direct, indirect, and value chain emissions.
Energy Partners’ ESG performance is monitored by the purpose-built Social, Ethics, and Transformation Committee, which reports directly to the company’s directors.
Additionally, recent updates to the company’s Central Risk Strategy now include climate-related risks, whilst its carbon reporting disclosure process tracks Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions on a quarterly basis.
This includes a review of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TFCD) framework and entrenching climate risk assessments, operations, and maintenance strategies into the company’s Group Risk Registry.
“These are some examples of our commitment to environmental stewardship, decarbonisation, risk management, and sustainable growth across all aspects of our business,” de Waal surmises.
SYNTIRO™ PLATFORM
In line with its own sustainability endeavours, Energy Partners offers a proprietary ESG data platform – Syntiro™ – which can track and manage thousands of data points for businesses and their supply chains.
Syntiro™ drives continuous operational efficiency and circular economy alignment by providing a customisable dashboard to cater to clients’ unique needs, operations, and branding, which is then easily accessed online, via an app, or through Microsoft Teams channels.
As such, Syntiro™ is the ultimate ESG tool as it diligently measures each user’s impact on the planet, providing key metrics on the amount of carbon emissions generated, energy efficiency, waste management, use of resources, and overall climate resilience.
From a social practice perspective, the platform analyses how companies interact with clients and wider society, particularly looking at labour practices, diversity and inclusion, community and engagement, and their commitment to workplace health and safety.
On top of this, Syntiro™ offers a state-of-the-art governance tool that evaluates corporate leadership, transparency, business ethics, regulatory compliance, and risk management effectiveness.
The tool’s ability to provide comprehensive ESG metrics offers a vast range of benefits to its users. Namely, it correlates with both voluntary and mandatory carbon reporting frameworks, providing clients with an end-to-end insight into their GHG emissions.
Moreover, the tool generates voluntary ESG disclosures that offer an overall picture of a company’s financial performance, which ensures a competitive advantage for investor and stakeholder relations.
In addition, Syntiro™ highlights the role of solar PV generation in creating environmental attributes, as well as providing guidance on the impact that selling renewable energy credits may have on a company’s future carbon footprint and net zero strategy.
Energy Partners recognises the extent to which proactive sustainable practices revolve around the efficient use of resources and accurate utility management. With this in mind, the platform offers a comprehensive utility dashboard that helps drive down utility costs and highlight energy-saving opportunities.
Syntiro™ also offers industry-leading asset management services that let businesses keep track of their systems’ uptime and efficiency, helping relieve unnecessary financial burdens.
It likewise helps build a bigger picture of a company’s energy flow and performance, highlighting ways to reduce total lifecycle costs and carbon footprint.
Syntiro™ therefore unlocks power solutions for its users, streamlining ESG reporting, centralising utility data, and optimising energy flow to enhance operational efficiency.
TRUSTED SUPPLY CHAIN
Energy Partners views its suppliers as key in delivering exceptional outcomes, particularly as many of them have worked with the company for more than a decade and supported it in executing large-scale, complex projects to world-class standards.
Given that Energy Partners funds its owned energy assets, it is critical for the business to deploy bankable solutions and technologies. Installation integrity, meanwhile, is also integral to minimising maintenance costs and maximising the performance of its assets.
For these reasons, the company’s supply chain network is integral to delivering world-class assets and energy solutions.
“We’ve established a global network of top-tier suppliers that deliver cost-effective, quality services and products that adhere to the most rigorous safety and compliance requirements, ensuring we remain agile and responsive across projects of any scale,” dictates de Waal.
One such organisation is Investec, which has been a strategic funding partner to Energy Partners since 2020.
More recently, Investec played a pivotal role in supporting Energy Partners’ construction and senior debt funding requirements by acting as the mandated lead arranger, debt and hedge provider.
The transaction covered 84 solar, steam, and refrigeration projects with a total capital value exceeding USD$90 million, excluding projects in Energy Partners’ pipeline.
“Through an innovative financing structure, Investec enabled us to refinance our existing debt whilst securing additional facilities for future growth, including construction funding,” de Waal recalls.
Beyond the provision of funding, Investec’s Energy and Infrastructure Finance team worked with its adjacent Treasury Sales and Risk Management team to play a critical role in managing Energy Partners’ interest rate exposure, optimising the company’s hedge strategy and requirements, and enhancing its profitability.
This integrated approach ensures that Energy Partners can now navigate market volatility, maintain financial stability, and maximise the long-term value of its energy and infrastructure assets.
“What sets Investec apart is its ongoing commitment; the company is constantly evaluating alternative funding strategies to support our evolving needs. This includes exploring innovative financing solutions such as “quasi-equity” alternatives, which offer flexible capital structures to support expansion whilst optimising the overall cost of capital,” he shares.
Leveraging its deep expertise in structured finance, Investec remains well-positioned to adapt to Energy Partners’ dynamic funding requirements, ensuring access to scalable and efficient financial solutions that align with the company’s strategic objectives.
“It’s a partnership that goes far beyond traditional banking,” de Waal highlights.
A FORCE FOR GOOD
Energy Partners believes that business is a force for good, demonstrated by the company’s core corporate social investment (CSI) focus on underserved communities, particularly in the areas of education, skills development, and access to basic resources.
“We focus specifically on these communities because, in SA, around 1.5 million children attend schools without electricity, whilst many schools lack basic infrastructure such as adequate classroom space, libraries, and computer labs.
“These conditions significantly impact learning outcomes and long-term opportunities for young people,” de Waal insights.
As a result, Energy Partners invests in many initiatives across local communities to help tackle these challenges.
For example, the company initiated a highly effective two-year learnership programme aimed at unemployed youth, specifically focusing on empowering young Black women with disabilities.
“Each year, we onboard four participants, offering them technical and professional skills through two learnerships, as well as continuous support beyond the programme’s conclusion,” he explains.
In addition, Energy Partners has taken on 15 young Black learners this year as part of a government-supported employment initiative, helping to bridge the gap between education and work readiness.
It also offers a range of dental health interventions in schools, partnering with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to address high absenteeism linked to untreated dental issues. These initiatives include free dental screenings alongside treatment and educational programmes to improve oral health awareness and ensure children have access to necessary dental care.
Elsewhere, Energy Partners donates IT equipment to severely under-resourced schools, improving access to digital learning tools and creating a more supportive educational environment in communities with limited services, ultimately enhancing academic outcomes and student development.
The company therefore has a keen understanding of its role as a corporate energy supplier and the far-reaching positive change it can make on local communities.
DRIVING TOP PERFORMANCE
Comprising a workforce of over 500 employees, Energy Partners empowers its people by fostering a culture that encourages autonomy, cross-skilling, and entrepreneurial thinking.
“Our employees take ownership of their work, drive innovation, and are directly accountable for business outcomes. Performance is also rewarded, with contributions recognised and incentivised at every level,” de Waal acknowledges.
Furthermore, the company provides engineers with extensive exposure across multiple disciplines including data analytics, asset management, and mechanical and electrical systems, ensuring that its team develops well-rounded expertise.
“Our commitment to skills development extends to artisans – from apprentices to professional technicians – who are offered structured career pathways and the necessary technical training,” he expands.
Indeed, Energy Partners is focused on supporting its employees on their professional journey through mentorship, structured training, and direct involvement in a variety of projects.
As a result, staff are granted hands-on exposure that accelerates growth and ensures they gain the experience and confidence to become industry leaders.
A FOCUSED GROWTH STRATEGY
Going forwards, the development of BESS is a key part of Energy Partners’ growth strategy, specifically in the commercial and industrial sectors.
This is particularly pertinent given that, in the past year, the company has deployed over 15MWh of BESS across multiple sites.
Its solutions range from cost-effective on-grid installations to high-availability back-up systems which, in turn, support load shifting, arbitrage, peak shaving, demand charge reduction, and increased solar PV self-consumption, alongside back-up power and business continuity.
“We’ve also developed a proprietary energy management system model that allows clients to unlock significant benefits without upfront CapEx. With battery costs declining and grid instability increasing, this space will continue to grow in importance,” urges de Waal.
An additional key focus area for the coming year is the international expansion of Energy Partners’ CaaS offering, which has started to attract global attention.
“The success of our projects, particularly in sectors such as food production and pharmaceuticals, has shown how transformative this model can be, both for operational efficiency and sustainability,” he concludes.
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